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U-DO
'''U-DO' (pronounced OOH-doo), short for Unus-Mundus Drive Operation (One World Drive Operation), is a wave existence system that is directly connected to the Miltian Conflict and the Zohar, and many theorize U-DO is responsible for the Gnosis. U-DO is essentially the true "God" of the Xenosaga universe, but more accurately, it is the will of the universe. Characteristics U-DO dwells in the higher Upper Domain, and can observe mankind in the Lower Domain with its observation terminals, also called its "eyes," Abel and Abel's Ark. U-DO is actually an energy from a higher dimension. It is a collective consciousness with a single mind, unlike the human collective consciousness with individual hive minds. It is the quality of having a single mind that makes U-DO's collective far more powerful than the human collective. It is this infinite energy stream that humans have both feared and tried to control. According to Jr., U-DO is an entity humans could not possibly control. In the Real Number Domain of the Lower Domain, U-DO is often depicted as pink waves, or a huge cloud of reddish-colored gas with long tendrils. U-DO can also create space-time anomalies. U-DO appears to be genderless. Some figures in the Xenosaga series have referred to U-DO using male pronouns, however, it never actually uses gendered pronouns in regards to itself. U-DO simply takes the form of a male figure (Abel). It is also important to realize that U-DO is a name given to it by humans and the name "U-DO" was chosen because it "sounded good". U-DO inherently doesn't have a name. Connecting to U-DO Some humans (e.g. Shion Uzuki and Aoi Uzuki) share a latent affinity with U-DO, even being able to communicate with it remotely. This characteristic subjects them to psychological stress. Shion begins to exhibit fainting when contacting U-DO, possibly implying that U-DO is able to contact humans while they are unconscious, in their subconscious. Direct contact with U-DO strikes humans with a powerful fear, causing a coma, insanity, trauma or death, as with the case of Tethlla Magus. To be specific, humans may see the end of all existence when contacting U-DO, as well as fears of absolute loneliness. It isn't specified how humans can connect to U-DO, but it can be assumed that only those with pure hearts are able to. This is the same reason why Shion is touched by a Gnosis and failed to turn into one. It is also possible those with hearts full of extreme sorrow, sadness, despair, grief, pain and suffering and intense emotion can connect and resonate with U-DO - Shion and Albedo definitely fit this criteria. It is also possible that "People of the Zohar" (and their descendants) are able to contact U-DO. This would presumably include Sakura Mizrahi and her mysterious illness, which is why Dmitri Yuriev believed Sakura being exposed to the anti-U-DO wavelengths of the U.R.T.V.s would be beneficial to her. Both Dmitri Yuriev and Erich Weber (Voyager) contacted U-DO, and it is implied they did using the Zohar. Others have the ability to contact U-DO, such as KOS-MOS (an android whose power source comes from U-DO by using the original Zohar as a door), the half-human half-Realian Febronia (designed to by Joachim Mizrahi), and the U.R.T.V. units (designed to by Dmitri Yuriev and the Salvator Faction). U-DO and fear Those who contact U-DO, and those who are contacted by U-DO, are implanted with fear at the core of their consciousnesses. In fact, both Dmitri Yuriev and Voyager ended up coming into contact with U-DO at the depths of the UMN, and in order to wipe away the resulting fear that was carved into the very depths of their souls, they caused numerous incidents, hatched countless plots, and after hundreds of years, produced so many victims that it's incalculable. What was it that frightened them to such an extent? That very fear was the vision of the collapse of the world, which became the basis for U-DO's observation of the lower domain. Those who saw the vision of the annihilation of all existence, shocked by its directness, become terrified by the ultimate negation of existence. They also learn the fear of absolute loneliness; of U-DO, the solitary existence who has absolutely no one else; of the complete collapse of the universe, which is carved into them from U-DO's lonely and imperishable existence, and which amounts to denial since the origin of existence; and of the annihilation of any and all existence. The fear of nothingness and loneliness. It has not changed even after thousands of years have passed since the era of ancient Lost Jerusalem; it is mankind's eternal nightmare. Many a wise man, holy man, and fool have challenged that nightmare, and all have failed. It is the fear that strikes at the core of consciousness not as a vague notion, but as an imminent pre-determined future. It is the fear that if the human frame cannot be transcended, there will be no escape. This is the true identity of the fear engraved by contact with U-DO. Observational terminals: Abel and Abel's Ark U-DO dwells in the higher Upper Domain, observing mankind in the Lower Domain with its observation terminals, also called its "eyes," Abel and Abel's Ark. Unlike many interpretations of God, often depicted as a wise man or elderly man, God is depicted as not having a physical form - only an observation terminal. Xenosaga rejects the idea that God is human. When humans perceive U-DO/God's observation terminal, they perceive U-DO as an pure innocent lonely little boy named Abel who knows very little about humanity and the universe, untainted by human evil. This is probably because humans have a tendency to be anthropocentic and envision god as a human. Similarly, a monkey might envision god as a monkey, or a horse might envision god as a horse. Abel is the human incarnation of U-DO in real space (the physical world), and Abel's Ark is Abel's imaginary (spiritual) form in real space, which is why it is mistaken for a Gnosis. In order to assure the continuation of the world and perform Eternal Recurrence, Wilhelm plans on sealing U-DO's observational terminals. Wilhelm calls this covering the eyes of God in order to remove God's influence from the world. Joshua is also able to seal Abel's power. UDOobseve.png|U-DO. Terminal.png|U-DO, Abel and Abel's Ark. Domain.png|U-DO and the Upper and Lower Domain. ER.png|U-DO and the Eternal Recurrence. Time of Xenosaga Dmitri Yuriev and the U.R.T.V.s Dmitri Yuriev, father of the U.R.T.V. units, and others who were studying U-DO, told the government that U-DO was an artificial consciousness or A.I. linked to the U.M.N. that was carrying some kind of dangerous waves. That was a complete lie, told in order to hide the fact that U-DO was something Dmitri Yuriev did not entirely understand. The U.R.T.V.s are specially designed to combat U-DO; they are U-DO's anti-existence. U.R.T.V.s can produce anti-waves designed to resist U-DO, but these anti-waves will not neutralize each other. The waveform collision between these anti-waves will release enormous amounts of thermal energy, resulting in the destruction of anything near them, including the U.R.T.V.'s. Miltian Conflict A moment before the U.R.T.V.s were to destroy U-DO, Rubedo had a vision of the Old Miltian planet being destroyed in an enormous explosion. Rubedo, fearing for the lives of his companions, broke the psychic bond that would produce the anti-waves. Unfortunately, this left them with no protection against U-DO. U-DO slew or drove mad all of the standard U.R.T.V.s. It then infected Albedo Piazzolla and drove him mad as well (although he was already a little unstable before that). The only documented surviving U.R.T.V.s were Nigredo and Rubedo, though Albedo survived as well. When Albedo made partial contact with U-DO fourteen years prior to Episode I and II (when he was infected by U-DO), it caused a medium-scale space-time anomaly alteration that produced two black holes. The planet of Old Miltia (back then, simply called Miltia) was sucked into those black holes and into a place called the Abyss (possibly just an empty vacuum within the black holes). Since then, U-DO had been obstructed by the two black holes. (In Episode II, fourteen years after Old Miltia's disappearance, Albedo obtained the Y-Data by hacking into MOMO Mizrahi's systems and used it to bring Old Miltia back from the Abyss, sacrificing himself in the process. After this occurred, the two black holes vanished.) Joachim Mizrahi developed a way to use U-DO as a control system for linking to the Zohar. ''Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht'' In the Encephalon, Nephilim Verum explains that a time will come where KOS-MOS will encounter the wave existence U-DO. Febronia and Nephilim showed the group a possible future where KOS-MOS fought U-DO and destroyed it along with the universe. ''Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse'' The concept of U-DO is explored more in-depth in Episode II, which elaborates on the U.R.T.V.s. Near the end, Albedo contacts U-DO using the Zohar in the Ω System and creates a space-time anomaly. ''Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra'' Dmitri Yuriev used Abel to pilot Ω Res Novae. Abel was the only one who could withstand the construct's awesome power without going mad. On Michtam, Wilhelm sealed away Abel's power using Joshua. The 'two Abel', or eyes of God, as Wilhelm calls Abel and Abel's Ark, needed to be sealed away. To perform Eternal Recurrence, Wilhelm needed to prevent U-DO's observation of the universe. Trivia * U-DO has some speaking lines in Episode III; it is voiced by Doug Erholtz in the English version and by Hikaru Midorikawa in the Japanese version. Interestingly, Hikaru Midorikawa also voiced Fei Fong Wong from Xenogears, meaning that the voice of U-DO would also be the voice of Abel in his adult form. * U-DO takes the form of Abel. In Xenogears, Abel is the Contact. This could hint that after the events of Xenogears, an Eternal Recurrence occurred, and Xenosaga is set then. Quotes * "Shion, a word to define an individual. Are you Shion?" * "Shion... what... do... you... seek...?" * "I want to know. To know you. To know your world." * "I am the will of the universe. You identify me as U-DO. What do you desire from the world?" * "Shion, what fills your heart? Is it fear? Sadness... or joy?" * "Are you afraid? What are you afraid of? Why are you afraid? Are you afraid of being isolated from the world? Are you afraid of people rejecting you? Are you afraid of your eventual death?" * "What does it mean to be alone? Is it more terrifying than death? Why does your face show such an expression?" * "This form is what you have defined me as. If you call this form Abel, then I am Abel. I am just one of the ways that U-DO is perceived. U-DO wants to know. About the wills that desire a dissipating world. Everything about you. Everything about this world." * "Shion, are you feeling pain right now? Is pain a method to recognize yourself? Why do you all seek pain? You don't know. I don't know, as well. No matter how much you hurt yourselves, no matter how much you hurt others, it won't make you feel better so, why? Shion, why do you exist in this world? What does your heart try to see in the abyss of despair? Where is the real you?" * "I want to know. What am I? Who will define me? That's right. I'm alone. Only that song heals me." Gallery Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse 29.png|U.R.T.V.s. trying to defeat U-DO with their "spiritual link" during the Miltian Conflict. UDO.gif|U-DO in the space-time anomaly. AlbedoUDO.gif|Albedo fusing with U-DO. Albedo20.jpg|Albedo fused with U-DO. Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra U-DO infobox.png|U-DO. Udo.jpg|U-DO (Abel). UDO1.png|U-DO (Abel). UDO2.png|U-DO (Abel). UDO3.png|U-DO (Abel). 002Abel.png|Model (Abel). C3abel02.png|Model (Abel). Category:Miscellaneous